Liquid consumer products including those such as soaps, cosmetics, shampoos, shower gels, cleansers, hand cremes, etc. have been known for quite some time. Most typically, such products contain one or more surfactants (anionic, non-ionic, and/or cationic) which exist in an isotropic phase, which phase by definition is recognized by those skilled in the art as being micellar in nature.
Under particular conditions, certain surfactants may exist in a lamellar, or liquid crystalline phase. One of the characteristics of a surfactant that exists in a lamellar phase is that it displays the phenomenon of birefringence when viewed under a polarized light source, which inherent feature is not exhibited by micellar-phase materials. Birefringence gives rise to a variety of colors in such lamellar liquids when viewed through a polarizing film.